Bars in the Burgh

Saturday, October 24, 2009

I've always kind of liked the Obey House on Stuben Street, up the hill from the West End. It's an old place (with some old patrons) but is always had a special charm. They have a couple of Hi Def TV's behind the bar and a really big one at the end of the bar. In the restaurant they also have a projection unit that is huge but a bit grainy as they tend to be. At one time they had a day during the week, when they showed movies in the afternoon. I don't know if they are still doing that, but it was kind of fun! Beer selection is OK, not fancy, but you wouldn't go here for imports. It's a good stop with good prices and a nice neighborhood place.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The Rhythm House in Bridgeville is a great venue for live music and also a pretty good happy hour stop. The girls that work there are usually very friendly and quite cute too! They have a variety of music and two rooms where on the weekends they sometimes accommodate two different bands at the same time. Sunday nights the Rhythm House hosts the Pittsburgh Jazz Society with a different jazz entertainer each week. There is never a cover on Sunday and it's a nice change from the standard rock bands.

The menu is somewhat limited and the food just average, but on Sunday nights they provide a special dinner menu for the jazz folks. I've not had it but it really looks pretty good.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Redbeards is up on Mount Washington, on Shiloh street. This place had become a bit worn, needed a good cleaning and some updating. A new owner turned this bar around! Just a new coat of paint, some cool big screen HD TV's, newly remodeled bathrooms and a good scrubbing has turned this into a place that I enjoy going to again. The beer is always cold and they have a nice draft selection. Food is better than average bar food...The hand cut cheese sticks are tremendous, and I really like the warm German potato salad that you can get with your sandwich.

With all the good TV's it's really a good place to watch sports, but they really get a fun crowd on hockey nights. The only negative I have is that the service can be sketchy at times. I've experienced this and have also had others make comments about the service to me. It's never been so bad that I won't go back, and on most occasions it has been just fine. I'm going to continue going to watch the Pens because it's a great crowd for that.

Kretzler's Tavern is on Babcock Blvd. right off McKnight road toward Millvale. This is a great comfortable bar. The crowd tends to be a little on the older side, which is fine with me, and the menu is full of good comfort food. They may have it everyday, but the last time I was there was a Friday afternoon and the special was a fish sandwich served with creamy mac and cheese. The fish was lightly fried cod (it's available broiled) and Pittsburgh huge! Like I said, the bar crowd was a little older but very talkitive and friendly.

Kretzler's isn't meant to be a four star restaurant, but it gets four stars for being a bar that makes you feel comfortable as soon as you walk in. Even if you're under 35!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Sunny Jims (Camp Horne Road, North Hills) was a local hangout that I would frequent when I lived in the area a few years ago. I was in the area yesterday, and decided to check it out again.

They had a fire there several months ago, and were shut down for awhile so I wanted to see if they had made any changes. What a great bar! I always liked it, but since the fire they really improved the place. It's clean as can be, the restrooms were nice and the prices are very reasonable. We had lunch which was good and just chatted with the bartenders for the afternoon. The owner came in (he does not know me)and bought us a round of drinks...How often does that happen???

They also have an outdoor area with a small stream running through it which would be a beautiful setting during warm weather.

Even though I don't live in the area anymore, I'll be sure to stop in again whenever I'm in the area.

I've been to the Bettis Grille several times and have enjoyed it each visit. They have a pretty good food menu including many sandwiches and a 36 ounce steak, but the Pacific Rim Tuna rolls are out of this world! While I've never had them, the World Championship Nachos are advertised as "big enough to feed the Steel Curtain". The bar is shaped like a big football, black granite with a nice selection of imports and pretty good drink prices for the type of place it is. It also has a number of HD TV's so you'll be able to catch what ever sporting event happens to be on. The servers have always been attentive and friendly.

This place get a 9 from me. It's not supposed to be fine dining, but rather upscale bar and bar food. For that it does it very well!

What can you say about Jacks? It's cheap? It's a dump? It's open at 7 am? I wouldn't eat there? You can say all of those things, but Jacks doesn't have to make any excused. They do what they do best, that is serve drinks at rock bottom prices at about any time of the day or night. In spite of that, it's not a scary or dangerous place. It really has it's own special charm. It's the kind of place where you may see someone in a suit, sitting next to guys slugging down a couple of cold Iron's, next to some almost drunk college chicks, next to me and Stacy having a cold one before we head out to dinner.

I'll give Jack's an 8. I just can't give a dump like this a 10, but for the kind of place it is, they do it best! If you like this kind of bar, Jack's won't disappoint!